


(his clothes) and bad behavior

by ohcinnamon



Category: Bandom, Set It Off (Band)
Genre: (or so he thinks), M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Pining, commission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-12-07 07:25:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18231740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohcinnamon/pseuds/ohcinnamon
Summary: Cody’s mortified the first time it happens.Cody picks up a bit of a bad habit, but... it's fine. It's not a problem. Really.





	1. void of all composure

**Author's Note:**

> doing commissions is always fun!
> 
> (title from "bad behavior" by the maine)

Cody’s mortified the first time it happens.

Because Maxx is absolutely having a wet dream in the bunk above him, soft moans escaping his mouth as he quietly fidgets in his sleep. Dan and Zach definitely aren’t awake, or else they’d come across the aisle and punch Maxx awake themselves. Cody _should_ be doing the same thing, out of courtesy. He should be kicking the top of his bunk in hopes that it wakes Maxx up, so things will be less awkward between them tomorrow.

He should at least put his headphones in and try to fall back asleep, to pretend that this isn’t happening at all. But he’s transfixed, face flushed, ears straining to hear as Maxx mumbles a jarbed string of nonsense words accompanied by panting, followed by a whimper one could only hear if they were really listening for it.

Is Cody really listening for it? Oh god.

It’s not like he’s never noticed how pretty Maxx is before — he has, all of them have. It’s kind of a running joke between them. He’s always been comfortable enough in his masculinity to notice when other men are objectively attractive, even if they’re in his band. (Like, have you seen Zach DeWall?) But he’s never been the kind of person who actively listens to his bandmates getting off.

It dawns on him then: he’s turned on. Like, ridiculously turned on.

He’s not proud of it when his next move is to automatically reach into his pants, biting the inside of his cheek so he’s as quiet as possible. This is so fucked up. The sleep deprivation he’s been experiencing is the only logical explanation, really. He’s straight. Straight as an arrow. Straight as a ruler. Straight as a—

Maxx moans again, right into his pillow, and Cody shivers so hard he swears he can feel it in his bones.

“ _Fuck it_ ,” he breathes out, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. It doesn’t matter. This doesn’t matter. He’ll get off, and go to sleep, and probably forget about this altogether once he’s actually got some sleep in his system. _Yeah. That makes sense._

He’s almost there, and he’s doing so good to be quiet, when the blonde boy’s name slips out of his mouth.

He immediately slaps a hand over his mouth and prays for death. All of a sudden, the heavy breathing in the bunk above him stops, and there’s a creak as Maxx flips onto his side. _Oh God. I’m fucked. I’m so fucked._

“Cody?” Maxx says groggily, voice laden with sleep. “Did you say my name? You need anything?”

“Huh?” Cody responds, trying to keep his voice from wavering. He’s on the brink of orgasm, and if he’s not careful, he’s gonna end up coming in the middle of a sentence. “I think you’re hearing things, buddy. Go back to sleep.”

“Hm, I guess,” Maxx mumbles, and his voice is muffled by the pillow once more. Cody can tell he’s already half-asleep again, thank god. He’d probably die if Maxx was a lighter sleeper. “M’kay, loveyou, g’night.”

At ‘ _loveyou,'_ Cody comes with a start, biting his shirt between his teeth so that he doesn’t make a sound. He’s shaking a little bit, and it takes a second for him to get his breathing relatively back to normal before he can respond, “love you too, buddy, night.”

All Maxx responds with is a muffled _mmph_ , and his breathing quickly falls back into the deep, rhythmic cycle Cody’s used to. Cody, however, is wide awake, faced with the realization of what’s just happened.

It’s gonna be a long night.

 

-

 

“You okay, Cody?” Maxx asks, waving a hand in front of his face. “You look like you’re zoning out.”

Cody snaps back to reality, gaze focusing on the bowl of cereal in front of him. He’s exhausted, having only slept for about two hours after the events of the previous night. Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t been able to forget what he did, or _why_ , for that matter.

“Huh?” Cody responds, feeling the flush rising to his cheeks. He can’t even look Maxx in the eye today. Granted, Maxx doesn’t even know what happened last night, but _still._ Cody knows, and that’s enough. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Maxx frowns. “I’m worried about you. You look like you haven’t been sleeping well, and you’ve been super out of it all day. I hope you’re not getting sick again.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” Cody waves it off. “Really, I just didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all.”

“Yeah, but I wonder what caused that,” Maxx murmurs, resting the back of his hand on Cody’s forehead to check his temperature. Maybe Cody’s forehead isn’t hot, but at the touch, his cheeks feel like they shoot up another thousand degrees. “If it’s something setting in, it could be making you lose sleep.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Cody chokes out, praying that Maxx doesn’t catch on. “Maybe.”

 

-

 

Days pass, and he doesn’t have another episode like that again. He’s able to look Maxx in the eye again without feeling inherently dirty. Which is good! Everything is good, and also fine.

Except for how he really needs to jack off, because he hasn’t in a while and… well. It’s not good to be sexually frustrated often, in any context. Especially not while you’re constantly packed into a bus with your closest friends.

Finally, _finally_ , he gets a chance to shower in a _hotel_ , instead of a bus, somewhere nobody can hear every little sound he makes. He’d be an idiot not to take advantage of that. As soon as he has the chance to settle in, he grabs a towel and claims the bathroom for the next half hour, because… well. He needs this.

Of course, he’s sharing the room with Maxx, because the universe isn’t allowed to be totally nice to him at all times, but still. It’s not like he has to know. He’s not going to know! It’s fine. Everything is fine.

Standing under the warm spray of the shower, he lets his inhibitions swirl down the drain. _Just don’t… think of anything,_ Cody thinks to himself, leaning his head against the wall of the shower as the water runs over him. He slides his thumb over the tip and breathes out shakily, closing his eyes. _Just focus on how good this feels._

He almost prides himself on being a good boy the whole time, but that’s a whole other range of kink he’s not going to delve into right now. This is all that matters. He’s so close, and he’s kept his mind blank of everything except how this feels, but at the last second—

He imagines what it would be like if Maxx kissed his neck, and he comes with an audible yelp of surprise.

“You okay?” Maxx calls from the bedroom, voice laced with concern. “Did you fall?”

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Cody responds quickly, his heart racing. “I’m good, just got scared by a shampoo bottle falling! You don’t have to come in!” 

“Uh... okay!” Maxx calls back, and Cody lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in. He leans against the wall of the shower, trying to hold himself up after everything that’s just happened. _Oh my god. Oh, fuck. Absolutely fuck me. Shit._

So maybe it turns out he has a bit of a problem after all.

 

-

 

It happens before Cody even really realizes what he’s doing.

One of Maxx’s shirts has been discarded on the floor, laying just outside Cody’s bunk, and he can’t stop staring at it. It’s nothing special, just one of his dozens of black t-shirts, but it keeps Cody’s attention. He has the urge to do something really, really stupid, but also possibly very satisfying.

Fuck it. Who needs brain cells to make rational decisions, anyway? Overrated.

Before he processes it, he’s reaching out to grab the t-shirt and pulling it into his bunk, fingers sliding over the cotton. It’s his stupid Godzilla shirt, one of the shirts he wears all the time, so it’s a bit worn, which is… charming? Having like three signature t-shirts suits him. It’s cute. _He’s_ cute.

And it just… it _smells like him_ , like being surrounded by him, and that shouldn’t be hot but it is. Cody can’t help but fantasize over what it would be like to bury his face in Maxx’s neck and let him do whatever he wanted — with his hands, with his mouth, with his dick, what _ever_ he wanted. He’s not picky. He just _wants._

So he buries his face in the shirt, breathes deep, and comes a lot faster than he’s used to.

...and reluctantly welcomes the start of a new bad habit.


	2. this may sound narcissistic (i like the lips you kiss with)

It turns out that Cody’s habit comes crashing down a week and a half later.

“Oh hey, is that my shirt?”

It’s poking out of the corner of Cody’s bunk, discarded at his feet, and Cody freezes. He’d let his guard down. He’d gotten cocky. He’d flown too close to the sun, so to speak.

“I think so, yeah,” Cody says. At that exact second, another one of Maxx’s shirts falls out of his bunk, landing next to his feet, and Cody thinks he might faint.

Fuck.

“Oh, I was looking for that one, too,” Maxx says, picking it up without a second thought. “I need something to wear today.”

 _Oh god. Oh fuck._ Maxx is actually gonna put on the shirt, after all that Cody had—

“Y’know, if you ever need to borrow clothes, you can just ask me, right?” Maxx asks, discarding the shirt he’d already been wearing on the floor. “I wouldn’t be mad.”

“I, uh — I was planning on washing them before giving them back to you,” Cody stammers, hoping that’s a good enough excuse. He can’t think straight between the two very prominent voices yelling _oh my god he’s gonna know_ and _oh god oh fuck he’s shirtless_ in his mind. “It’s the least I can do.”

Maxx scoffs. “I know you, dude. You don’t smell _that_ bad.” He tugs the shirt over his head, and Cody’s breath catches in his throat. _Please don’t notice. Please don’t notice._ “I can wash them when we get to the next hotel or whatever. Don’t worry about it.”

Cody almost doesn’t notice the small stain toward the bottom of the shirt — it’s a faint white and fading, and the shirt is striped anyway, but… it’s there, no doubt. He can only hope Maxx doesn’t catch onto it, or at least not what it is.

Maxx catches him staring, slack-jawed, and raises an eyebrow at him. “What? Do I look okay?”

“Wh– uh, yeah!” Cody exclaims. “You look great. Really, really good.”

Maxx beams at him, and Cody almost mentally punches himself for the added _really, really good,_ but stops himself because it’s _Maxx_ , so who can blame him? He’s, like, stupid hot. It’s not Cody’s fault that he can’t contain himself. Maxx hasn’t said anything, so at least it’s not that obvious. Right?

Except for the fact that it maybe is a little bit obvious. Because Zach is watching him, out of the corner of his eye, and he’s not as oblivious as his bandmates. He sees right through them, and makes a mental note to convince Maxx they need to hang out alone sometime soon.

 

—

 

Whenever Maxx has something on his mind (which is often), he goes out to eat with Zach.

Zach is a good friend. He usually gets whatever’s going on in Maxx’s head, even if he doesn’t fully know how to describe it himself.

“Dude, are you even listening to me?” Zach asks, scraping his fork along Maxx’s plate with an annoying _screech_ to get his attention. Maxx winces, knocking it away with his own fork, and Zach smirks.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m just thinking,” Maxx mumbles.

“What about?”

“I’m worried about Cody,” Maxx mumbles, absentmindedly swirling his straw around his water glass. “He’s spending more and more time alone, and it feels like I barely even talk to him anymore. It feels like he’s avoiding me, honestly. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“Yeah, it must be awkward for him with his giant boner for you,” Zach replies nonchalantly, and Maxx almost chokes on air.

“You— his _what?_ ”

“You don’t know?” Maxx shakes his head, lost, and Zach grins at him. “Oh boy, buddy. He’s got it _bad_ for you.”

“He does _not_ ,” Maxx insists, and Zach just laughs at him. “Zach. I’m being serious. I’m actually worried about Cody.”

“Maxx, you know I love you very much, but you’re an idiot, and sometimes you really can’t see things right in front of you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maxx asks, still kind of feeling the theoretical whiplash from Zach’s earlier statement, and Zach rolls his eyes at him. “Okay, I’m an idiot. Now tell me _why_ I’m an idiot.”

“Cody likes you, Maxx,” Zach says. “He likes you a lot. In a non-friend, very romantic way.”

“I…” Maxx’s voice trails off, and he drums his fingers on the table nervously. “How do you know?”

“Have you seen the way he looks at you lately?” Zach asks. He’s met with a blank stare, which, in this case means, _no, I obviously have not seen this_. “Well, I think just about everyone else on Earth has, pal. I don’t know when he started liking you, but it seems like he’s having trouble dealing with it lately. Why else do you think he’s been avoiding you lately?”

Maxx hates to admit it, but Zach is making sense. The last time he’d had a full conversation with Cody was when he gave him his shirts back, and even that felt like their usual spark was… missing. Cody had seemed like he was in a whole other world at the time. Could that be why? “Okay, so even if you’re right — which you’re probably _not_ — what do I do? I just want things between us to be normal.”

“I mean, do you like him?” Zach inquires, his tone nonchalant.

Normally, Maxx feels like he’d be able to answer that question without a second thought, but now… he’s not sure. It’s not something he’d ever let himself fully consider, since it’s not something he’d ever be allowed to feel. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t want to rule it out completely, y’know?”

“I feel like that’s a start,” Zach says, giving him a sympathetic smile. “I think you need to talk to him. It might be awkward, but it’s a conversation you need to have if you want things to feel normal again. Right?”

“Right,” Maxx reluctantly agrees, his fingers drumming on the table one last time before his hand clenches into a nervous fist. “I’ll try to talk to him about it soon.”

Zach reaches across the table and flicks his knuckles, getting him to unfurl his fingers. “Hey, relax. No matter what happens, I know you’re both going to be okay."

He has a point. They’re going to be okay. Right?

 

-

 

“You’re up late.”

Maxx whirls around, mouth still full of cereal, and gives Cody a slight wave. It’s 3 AM, but his mind is racing from the conversation he’d had over dinner. Of course he’s still awake. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Me either,” Cody sighs, burying his face in his hands. He looks tired, but too wired to rest, a feeling that Maxx knows all too well.

“Want some Cheerios?” Maxx asks, pushing the bowl toward him in an attempt to break the tension. Cody shakes his head, but gives him a weak smile in return.

“Nah, I was just getting up to get a drink. I don’t think we’ve got any bottled water on hand right now though, so I’m just gonna head back to—”

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Maxx says, stepping in front of him to block his escape back to his bunk. If he doesn’t talk to Cody now, then who knows when he’ll have the chance? “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”

Cody startles, blinking rapidly in surprise. “I mean, uh, yeah. Okay. What’s up?”

_Was Zach telling the truth, or is he full of shit?_

“I know you’ve been going through _something_ recently, even if you won’t tell me what it is,” Maxx starts. “And that’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Just… let me help you. I care about you.”

“I know you do,” Cody says quietly. “And I really appreciate that. I wish I could explain what’s going on, I just. Don’t know how, y’know?”

“Come here,” Maxx says, wrapping him in a hug. It’s the first real embrace they’ve had in weeks, and it feels a lot like coming home. He can feel the tension drain out of Cody for what seems like the first time in days, and breathes a small sigh of relief. _Whatever’s going on, we’ll get through it._ He rubs Cody’s back in soothing circles, swaying a little bit. “Relax. You’re okay. Come watch a movie in the back with me.”

“...okay,” Cody finally agrees, and Maxx feels some of the weight lift off his chest.

 

-

 

Thirty minutes pass, and neither of them is paying any attention to the movie at all. So Maxx hits pause, and the silence startles both of them.

“So… Zach told me something,” he starts, and Cody won’t meet his eyes. “About you, actually.”

“Really?” he asks, almost a whisper. He’s so scared that it makes Maxx’s stomach drop. “That’s… interesting.”

“Hey,” Maxx murmurs, gingerly resting a hand on Cody’s chest. His heart is beating rapidly, a frantic drumbeat, and something about that makes Maxx _want_. He doesn’t know if he feels, like, super-romantic feelings for Cody, but this… is a start. This is telling. This is damning. “Look at me.”

Cody does, and his eyes are wide with fear. His pupils are dilated, the blue of his irises barely a small ring around the black, and his cheeks are flushed a deep red. Zach’s words flash through his mind again, bright red and burning against the insides of his eyelids. _Cody likes you. Do you like him?_

 _Maybe_ , Maxx answers imaginary Zach’s question. _I might._

“Breathe,” Maxx says, positioning himself so that their knees are touching. He might as well go for it. “I know that you like me, and that’s okay. It’s… something that I’ve been thinking about too, if I’m being honest.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.” He’s been thinking about it a lot more than he cares to admit. Maxx slips his hand up to his neck, where his skin burns hot to the touch, and presses their foreheads together. Cody’s breath fans against his lips, shaky and uncertain. “I’m gonna kiss you now. Is that okay?”

Cody gives him the most miniscule of nods. “Yeah, that’s okay.”

All at once, it’s like everything suddenly makes sense. Cody kisses him like this is the first _and_ last time, the only chance he’ll ever get, and what can Maxx do but melt into him? It takes maybe two seconds before Maxx is leaning in closer. Cody works one hand into his hair, and Maxx sighs into his mouth, and it’s honestly impressive how fast he’s come around to being totally okay with this. He hasn’t been kissed like this in… _ever_ , really. The world is falling out from underneath his feet and nothing even matters.

Cody’s the one to tentatively pull away, anxiety lingering in his gaze when his eyes open. Maxx’s heart clenches; he never wanted Cody to feel scared of whatever this is. He’s kind of scared himself, to be honest, but he never wanted Cody to feel that way.

“I’m sorry. Was that okay?” Cody asks, despite the fact that Maxx had been the one to kiss him. His voice carries the heaviness of guilt.

“Of course it was,” Maxx says softly, sitting back so he’s not all up in Cody’s space. “I would’ve told you if it wasn’t. Are _you_ okay?”

He hadn’t expected to feel this much, but… he does. He wants to hold Cody. He wants to make him feel safe. That’s more than a start.

“I think so,” Cody says, but he looks unsure. “I just…”

Cody’s eyes are still semi-glassy, but it’s clear that he’s still scared of what might happen next. He looks like he expects Maxx to run, and that breaks his heart. Instead, Maxx kisses his forehead, pulls him in close. He’s still breathing heavily, trying to come down from the adrenaline rush, so Maxx slips a hand under his shirt and traces patterns into his back to soothe him. “Easy. I’ve got you.”

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Cody asks, voice muffled from burying his face into Maxx’s shoulder. “Is this what you want? What are we doing?”

“I don’t know,” Maxx admits. “I almost didn’t believe Zach when he told me. But this is something I’d be willing to figure out with you.”

“...I can’t believe he knew,” Cody mumbles.

“Zach knows a lot of things before anyone else does. He’s got, like… emotional ESP or something,” Maxx says, though that’s not much of a comfort. Cody makes a snuffling noise of agreement (at least, Maxx hopes it’s agreement) into his shoulder. “Yeah, it’s weird to me, too.”

There’s a beat of silence, and then Cody lets out a small, “fuckin… Zach.”

Maxx lets out a small chuckle, and he feels Cody relax. “Yeah. Though, you know, he _was_ right about you.”

“Oh, shut up. _You_ kissed _me_.”

“Do you want me to stop kissing you in the future? Because I can do that, if that’s what you want.”

“Fuck no.”

They’re going to be okay.

 

-

 

It takes two weeks before it dawns on Maxx why Cody had been hoarding his shirts.

They finally have a night to themselves, in a small hotel room bathed in moonlight. Their clothes have been long since discarded on the floor, and they’ve also already made their way through a whole pizza. It’s been a good night.

“It’s nice to actually be able to… like… feel like I’m close to you, or like I’m being held by you, without wearing your clothes,” Cody muses, half-asleep. His head is on Maxx’s chest, and their fingers are laced together.

“So you were never out of clothes,” Maxx teases. “You just _liked me_.”

“Shut up,” Cody mumbles. “You _know_ that. I’m still embarrassed that you wouldn’t let me wash them before I gave them back to you.”

“Why is that?” Maxx asks, and Cody immediately tenses up, a lot more awake. “What? What is it? You know you can tell me anything.”

“I used the shirts for… well, you know,” Cody starts, and his face is flushing already. It’s _cute_ , but Cody’s embarrassed, so he flips over onto his other side before continuing. Suddenly, it hits Maxx why he’s so flustered. “I mean, they were yours, y’know? They, uh, they smelled like you, so I’d bury my face in them, and then, ah—”

“That’s hot,” Maxx blurts out, feeling his own face flush a considerable amount. His baby was so desperate for him that he’d resorted to stealing his shirts, and he’d never realized why.

Granted, it’s not like Maxx even knew that Cody liked him back then… but still. It’s hot. Picturing Cody so turned on, wanting him so bad he buries his face into Maxx’s shirt and comes, whining and whimpering — that’s… _wow._ Who knew?

“Really?” Cody asks, his voice small and insecure, and Maxx rolls him over so they’re facing each other.

“Really, I promise. You’re hot, now deal with it,” Maxx murmurs, kissing Cody’s cheeks. The way he smiles at the praise is _everything_. “But you won’t ever have to be so desperate like that again, y’know. I’ll keep you so preoccupied you won’t even have time to think about wanting me. I’ll already be there.”

“I—” Cody stammers, eyes wide. “Shit, Maxx. When did you get so good at dirty talk?”

Maxx just grins back at him. “When did you get so good at making me want to?”

 

-

 

 _Remember when you weren’t sure if you were into him?_ Maxx asks himself, watching as Cody starts his vocal warm-ups. There’s a teeny portion of a fading hickey peeking out from under the collar of his shirt, but it’s not noticeable unless you’re looking for it. Then again, Maxx is _definitely_ looking for it, since he’s got a small sense of pride out of knowing he’s the one who put it there. The boys are gonna find out soon (or, more likely, they already know), but he’s not worried about it. This thing they have is good, for everyone.

They’re happier, now. Cody walks around like a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders — the way he seems to float around these days is proof. Besides, it’s been kind of fun to sneak around and have a secret of their own. The word "boyfriend" in itself is something big enough for them to handle right now. If (and when) things get more serious, they’ll confront telling everyone, but for now, this is good. This is fine. This is more than enough for both of them.

Cody looks over at him, and his eyes get brighter. He flashes a quick smile at Maxx, nothing more than a fleeting grin, and Maxx feels his heart swell. _How did you ever think you wouldn’t fall headfirst for this idiot?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! sorry it took me so long to post part two; i've been super busy lately. regardless, i hope it was an okay lil read <3


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